The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
‘TAIL’ OF REDEMPTION
Local author’s book benefits program that pairs rescue dogs with prisoners
PLYMOUTH >> When Mercy Hansen Mize went online looking to adopt a shelter dog she not only gained a beloved new family member but a worthy cause and a second career as well.
Mize, who teaches second grade at Fern Hill Elementary in Chester County, has been an animal lover her entire life.
But not until she and her husband Brian adopted Samson from the DAWGS Prison Program did the New Hampshire native find the inspiration for the children’s book she always wanted to write.
“It’s always been a goal of mine but I never had my story,” Mize said. “After adopting Samson and learning more about the prison program I decided that’s what I want to write about. Samson was my motivation, my inspiration. And now my goal is really to educate, promote and support the prison program, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of ‘Samson’s Tail’ goes to support the prison program.”
Visitors to Barnes & Noble at The Metroplex, 2300 Chemical Road, Plymouth Meeting, on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. will get a chance to meet both the author and her furry inspiration and learn more about how he
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came into the couple’s life four years ago through the DAWGS (Dogs Achieving Wellness and Good Structure) prison program.
The program rescues dogs from high-kill shelters down south and places them in prisons where they are trained by inmates before graduating and being placed in their forever homes, Mize explained.
A press release from Mascot, the publisher of “Samson’s Tail,” noted that studies have indicated that having a canine program in prison decreases depression and aggression, while increasing morale among inmates and staff.
“I had the Pet Finder app on my phone and was looking at dogs who were local or just a couple of hours from where I live in Downingtown, and I came across this cute face,” Mize recalled. “My husband and I went up to do a meet and
“Samson’s Tail” is the first book by Fern Hill Elementary teacher Mercy Mize. greet and I found out the dog was at this prison and in this program. I learned more about it and my husband and I have done a lot of volunteering for the program and donated a lot since then. It’s something I knew nothing about before, but from then on it was just destiny. We’ve become very passionate about it and the owners of the program are just amazing and are friends of ours now.”
Dogs are placed in cells with inmates and are trained basic commands and become socialized, Mize said.
“As I would tell that story, before I wrote my book, no one had ever heard about it but it always got such great feedback,” Mize said. “Since then we’ve learned so much about the prison program and have volunteered for them, handing off the dogs to inmates and going around telling people about it. The prison that we adopted Samson from is no longer in the program, but the dogs are in three other Pottsville prisons.”
The DAWGS program benefits both the dog and the inmate, Mize noted.
“That’s what my story is about. The program gives the dogs a purpose, and the inmates too. I’ve done transports, handing the dogs off to the inmates, and just to see their passion and excitement, the program really benefits the inmates and the dogs’ forever families. You end up with a wonderful dog who is well trained, well socialized,” Mize said.
Many of the dogs, like Samson, move on to careers as therapy dogs.
“I continued to train Samson and he is now a certified dog through Therapy Dogs International,” said Mize, who explained that, while the real Samson and the literary Samson are essentially the same dog, the main human character in Samson’s Tail” is fictional.
“I don’t know any facts about the actual inmate who worked with Samson.
It’s a fiction story, but of course the DAWGS program is real. The book is about second chances and about love and the relationship that the inmate and the dog build together. I worked really hard with the illustrator to get the perfect Samson because I wanted kids to really relate to him and love him.”
Mise said she has no idea which breed Samson is, just that’s he’s mixed.
“We just say he’s 100 percent cute,” she said, laughing, adding that Samson has adapted beautifully to his newfound fame on the book promotion circuit.
“He stands there and wags his tail,” she said. “He’s a great dog with a great personality. I feel that he is the perfect example of dogs that come out of this program.”